Non-Stealing (ASTEYA)
It is a tendency of one’s lower nature
to try to ‘get something for nothing.’ In other words, driven by the tamsasic
and rajasic qualities inherent in the ‘mind-stuff’ (extrapolated
from Prakriti), people (that is, unevolved people) will tend to expect something is ‘owed’
to them without their having to really work for it. Such an attitude is the mindset
of a thief; it is the attitude of one who desires without deserving, who wants
without working, and who takes without giving.
We are robbing from ourselves when we expect other people
to make us happy or fulfill our images and expectations. What we lose is our peace
of mind. When we listen to our ego we are cheating ourselves. When we surrender
to our selfish desires we are letting our own ego ‘rob us blind.’ It means when
we are blind to the truth we follow our ego and it steals away our life.
Non-stealing means to keep our ego in check and not
take credit for the good we do in the name of God (in the name of Truth, or Dharma).
We are the instrument of a higher power and without that power we are powerless.
Our body and mind are animated by the power of Atman in the form of PRANA. All
credit goes to our spirit-self and NOT our small-self ego.
The
embodied soul (the spirit-self working through the mind and body) MUST work. Work
is a must. We become intoxicated with the spirit-self by performing actions (through
the mind and body) in the spirit of renunciation—in other words, without the thought
of our small self (ego, persona). The ecstatic state of consciousness can NEVER
be attained by just doing nothing or expecting others to do something for us,
or by depending on our ‘luck.’ When we are complacent and settle into our comfort
zones we become zombies. A ‘zombie’ is one who does not think for himself but
instead just follows the whims of his mind and the dictates of his ego.
If we follow our ego our ego will make us a ‘thief.’
Our ego makes us think that ‘the world owes us something’ or that we can get something
out of life without giving anything to it. People who are addicted to gambling
are also thieves because they think they can get something for nothing; in other
words, a gambler thinks he can get rich without earning it; he thinks he can ‘earn’
a living without working for it. Life does not work that way.
Taking what is not ours is called stealing. Buying what we
cannot afford to pay for is also called stealing. Eating food that we cannot digest
will steal away our health. Acquiring things that we cannot maintain will steal
away our peace of mind. When we are possessed by our possessions we lose self-control.
When we lose self-control we are controlled by things outside of ourselves and
feel that we are robbed of our peace of mind. To regain our peace of mind we have
to make peace with ourselves. We do this by coming to grips with ourselves and
making a firm resolve to ‘keep it simple.’ To keep it simple all we need to do
is get our own ego out of the way: stop looking for attention, stop seeking appreciation
or recognition, stop expecting ease without effort, and stop wanting without working.
All of these thieving activities are driven by ego-mentality. This is why we need
to remove ego from our mind. We need to break the mind-ego connection, and when
we do we are FREE. When we are really free, there is absolutely no tendency to
steal and no fear of losing what we have, because what we have (what we REALLY
have) can never be lost or stolen.
The practice
of Asteya (non-stealing) requires constant vigilance.
We have to be very sharp and focused to see what we are doing and thinking, and
how our thoughts and actions affect our life, the lives of our loved ones, and
the whole world.
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